What was the Southeast Front of the Red Army? What military operations took place in this direction? You will find answers to these and other questions in the article. It is known that the Southeast Front is a strategic operational detachment of the Red Army during the Civil War.
Description
The front we are considering was based on the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the special group of the Southern Font V.I. Shorinav in 1919, namely September 30. Then it was renamed the Caucasus Front (by decree of the RVSR in 1920, January 16). The front headquarters was in Saratov.
Composition
The Southeast Front included:
- 9th and 10th armies;
- 8th Army (from January 10, 1920);
- 11th military association (from October 14, 1919);
- reserve army (from 1919 to 1920);
- 1st Horse squad (from January 10, 1920);
- military Volga-Caspian flotilla (from October 14, 1919);
- Penza UR.
Fighting
The Southeast Front was tasked with breaking up Denikin’s formations in the Tsaritsyno and Novocherkassk directions, and occupying the Don region. In October 1919, on the Khoper River, against the cavalry of Mamontov, front units conducted fortifications in the area of ​​the villages of Ilovlinskaya, Medveditskaya and Kamyshin.
The strategic offensive was carried out jointly with the Southern Front from November 1919: in November-December the Khopero-Don operation was carried out, the Khoper river was boosted, Kalach, Novokhopersk and Uryupinskaya were occupied. And on January 3, 1920, after several fights, Tsaritsyn was recaptured.
During the Novocherkassk-Rostov operation, units of the Southeast Front destroyed the Don Army and occupied Novocherkassk on January 7, 1920.
Command staff
It is known that the front command staff we were studying had the following:
- the commander was V.I. Shorin (from September 30, 1919 to January 16, 1920);
- S. I. Gusev, V. A. Trifonov and I. T. Smilga were members of the PBC (since December 18, 1919);
- chiefs of staff - F. M. Afanasyev (1919-1920), S. A. Pugachev (January 4-16, 1920).
Arc
During the Civil War, the Southeast Front very quickly coped with the tasks. When the units of the Southern Front created action plans and prepared for a counterattack, Denikin still stubbornly continued to move forward. They were intoxicated by previous victories and uncontrollably rushed to Tula, Orel and Moscow.
In the south, the front by October 10, 1919 looked like a huge arc with a length of more than 1130 km. Its ends rested on the Dnieper and the mouth of the Volga, and the top was aimed at Moscow. The enemy concentrated almost all of his forces on this gigantic front.
In the Tsaritsyn area, in front of the Southeast Front and southeast of it, the Wrangel’s Caucasian Army was stationed. Beyond its right flank in the direction of Astrakhan, there was a unit of General Drazenko from the brigade of the White Guard Army of the North Caucasus.
From the Ilovlya River (Voronezh), north-west of the Caucasian Army, the front was occupied by the Don army of Sidorin. At a central rate from Voronezh almost to Chernigov, a volunteer army of General May-Mayevsky was advancing. To the south-west of it, in the region of Kiev and Bakhmach, the so-called units of the Kiev region of General Dragomir operated. In Togobochny Ukraine, the Schilling team operated.
Denikintsy
It is known that Denikinites attacked, concentrating their troops in separate units on the most important directions. By acting in this way, they were able to achieve significant success. But Denikin's command felt the lack of reserves more and more. After all, it was carried away by the seizure of territory and scattered its troops in an impressive space.
The offensive was carried out with great difficulty. The stubborn resistance of Soviet soldiers and bloody battles for almost every village led to enormous losses, which there was nothing to make up for. The nearest operational reserves were used up, and the inflow of replenishment from the depths almost stopped. The flames of the uprisings of the working people and partisan war blazed in the rear. It not only absorbed all resources, but also forced to withdraw more and more units from the front.
In addition, Denikin’s army was no longer class-homogeneous. After all, the forced mobilization of Cossacks and peasants, the forced enrollment in the units of captured Red Army fighters had a strong influence. The fighting strength of Denikin began to reflect exacerbated class divisions.
Until recently, the martial law of the counter-revolution of the South seemed very strong. Now in it were visible signs of an approaching crisis. However, this crisis could turn into a catastrophe only a major defeat caused by a powerful blow of the Red Army. In the meantime, Denikin’s command did not take into account losses and demanded that troops advance on Moscow.
Caucasian front
So, we have already said that the Red Army South-Eastern Front created for a successful confrontation with the enemy. And what was the Caucasian front created by the decree of the RVSR? He was faced with the task of completing the liquidation of the North Caucasian troops of Denikin and the liberation of the Caucasus. The headquarters of this front was in Millerovo, and then in Rostov-on-Don.
Composition of the Caucasus Front
As part of this front were:
- 8th military association (1920);
- 9th army (from 1920 to 1921);
- 10th Tverskoye (1920);
- 10th Tersko-Dagestan army (in 1921);
- 11th military association (from 1920 to 1921);
- 1st Horse Detachment (1920);
- reserve army (from September to December 1920);
- Expeditionary Naval Division (from August to September, from November to December 1920);
- Yeisk and Ekaterinodar fortified areas;
- 2nd Air Regiment;
- Tersko-Dagestan (from January to March 1921) and Terskaya (from October to November 1920) groups of forces;
- The Caucasian segment of the coastal defense of the Azov and Black Seas in operational terms was subordinate to the front.
Fighting
In 1920, in January and February, fighters of the Caucasian Front carried out the Dono-Manych campaign. During the 2nd and 3rd phases of the North Caucasian campaign, they occupied the North Caucasus, defeating Denikin and capturing 330 guns, more than 100 thousand prisoners, more than 500 machine guns and more.
In August-September, the troops of the Caucasus Front eliminated the Ulagaevsky White Guard landing in the Kuban. During the Tiflis, Baku, Kutaisi, Erivan and Batumi operations of the Caucasian Front (1920-1921), Soviet power was introduced in Transcaucasia.
In 1921, on May 29, the front was liquidated, and its institutions and troops were transferred to the Military North Caucasian District and the Caucasian Separate Army.
Politburo
The southern front by the decision of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the party, which appeared on October 15, 1919, was recognized as the most important front of the Soviet Republic. That is why the previously adopted plan to combat Denikin was supposed to change. It was planned to inflict a basic attack on Denikin’s army not through the Don region by the troops of the Southeast Front, but by units of the Southern Front in its central zone.
The decision of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Party on the short-term transition of the front we are considering to defense allowed the bulk of the marching reinforcements to be sent to the Southern Front. In October-November, he was able to get about 38 thousand fighters. Also, on October 17, the 40th Infantry Division was transferred from the structure of the Southeast Front to the 8th association, formed from the workers of Bogucharsky Uyezd and famous for its dedication. Thanks to such an influx of replenishment, it was possible to consolidate not only the new achievements that were outlined in the Oryol region, but also launch a large counter-offensive on the entire Southern Front.
For the execution of instructions on the Southern Front personally, V. I. Lenin and the Central Committee of the party established strict monitoring. V.I. Lenin noted that one cannot stop there, that against Denikin it is necessary to continuously increase the force of strikes.
V.I. Lenin delved into all the details that were connected with the situation on the Southeast and Southern Fronts. He constantly watched the process of forming new formations and units, was interested in the process of strengthening the defense of Moscow and Tula. It is known that V. I. Lenin personally monitored the sending of certain personnel officers to the front.